Becoming a courier for MyHermes

DanS1

Some of you may have seen my other thread tonight regarding my mental health and work. I'm considering becoming a courier with MyHermes. Now one thing I do like is driving, and wondering how viable it is to do this full time, with rent and bills to pay etc. I know it's self employed. Just thing I would really enjoy this.

MalMonroe

Hi, if you think you would enjoy it, why not give it a try?

I know that on this site, Hermes certainly does not enjoy a good reputation but on the whole, and having just had a quick look through their website, it appears that if you are prepared to be a reliable and honest worker, you have every chance of enjoying what you do. 

The problem is that Hermes has gained its reputation because of hiring unreliable delivery personnel. Where I live we have two regular Hermes couriers and they are both really friendly and good at what they do and we (and our neighbours) have never had any problems with missing parcels. 

According to the information in the following link, rates are competitive and appear to be very reasonable.

https://beacourier.co.uk/ 

If you do start working there but find it wasn't what you were looking for, you can always leave. 

Don't forget to check whether you will have to change your car insurance policy as you'd be using the car for work.

Good luck!   

oh_really

I suspect you would be a poor fit for this role. How confident are you you could deal with the reality of this kind of work?

elsien

I do feel that the self-employed bit doesn’t give you the freedom that would apply on practice if you were genuinely self employed.
You are paid per parcel, however long the round takes you to do. And I would suggest you check out the expectations in terms of working days, sick days, holidays etc - as self employed you won’t get paid for time off, but would you lose your    round if you weren’t meeting their expectations? 
Bearing in mind that the people who comment tend to be those who are unhappy, this may give you a view as to the worst case scenarios. 

https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/hermes-rejects-worker-exploitation-allegations/

If you like driving, have you looked at employed delivery driver options, eg for the supermarkets? 

HampshireH

Couriering is not easy.

The pressure is high and the hours long. In the day of taking everything online I've seen numerous social media posts which have been horrendous towards local couriers.

Definitely need to be strong emotionally to deal with that aspect as well as the long hours, pressure to deliver against sometimes impossible targets and the loneliness an independent driving job can bring.

Would this be of benefit to your depression and anxiety?

oh_really

Is this to be another thread started and abandoned?

TELLIT01

Not a job I've done, but I have read plenty of comments about how stressful and low paid the work is.  The OP really does need to investigate all the costs of being self employed e.g. fuel, motor and 3rd party insurance; payment per parcel; number of parcels required per day to make a decent living.

BrassicWoman

 I would watch the film "Sorry we Missed You first. It's a worst case scenario film  but will give an idea of the requirements. If you want to deliver things, being a royal mail postie has decent wages and a decent pension. I'd look there first.

Savvy_Sue

BrassicWoman said:

 I would watch the film "Sorry we Missed You first. It's a worst case scenario film  but will give an idea of the requirements. If you want to deliver things, being a royal mail postie has decent wages and a decent pension. I'd look there first.

It's an excellent film, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to someone already stressed and depressed. OP, it would definitely put you off any form of self-employed courier work ... I'd strongly recommend the other options like supermarket driving or Royal Mail first!

oh_really

OP, you may be looking at consulting your GP/ contacting DVLC medical services if your mental health is having a serious impact.

Anxiety and driving - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)  Depression and driving - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

sammyjammy

HampshireH said:

Couriering is not easy.

The pressure is high and the hours long. In the day of taking everything online I've seen numerous social media posts which have been horrendous towards local couriers.

Definitely need to be strong emotionally to deal with that aspect as well as the long hours, pressure to deliver against sometimes impossible targets and the loneliness an independent driving job can bring.

Would this be of benefit to your depression and anxiety?

Totally agree with this, my courier is the most lovely man, knows me by name always checks how I am but then I am  nice polite and courteous person, many are not and lovely as he is I bet he gets a load of c**p from people, more so from the bigots out there as he is of Asian origin.